The soft clink of bottles filtered through the room. The air was heavy with the smell of various plants and flora scattered around the shop. The back of the store was darker to help keep the ingredients as fresh as possible when customers bought them. In the back part of the store, Elias fiddled with the newest potions he had brewed just the previous evening. Little tiny woven baskets held different orders for the customers who had paid beforehand.

Today was supposed to be a slower day since it was the beginning of the week, and the Public and Private Clinics had picked up their ingredients and potion orders the previous day. Elias was just about to finish packaging them up when the tinkling of the front door opened to let in a burst of giggles from the street. His eye twitched, expecting that it was a bunch of kids who wanted to annoy the grumpy potion maker. He scowled and set the blood thickener down—stupid kids.

Elias stormed out to the front, surprised to see it was not a child but a new customer. He watched her explore for a few minutes, seeing what she would do. The woman was of an average height, but her appearance startled him. He was too used to Elves and other Fae beings, with the occasional Drakithr that came through. With the slow expansion of his store, he had hoped to move from Verdanthi to the Vale within the next few years. The more lucrative stores were found there and everyone in the Central Realms shopped in the Marketplace Districts.

He could see that she wore dark leather pants and a combination of a light lavender corset over a white top, an Anissive with those color choices. What would one be doing in his shop, he mused. It was unusual to see one unaccompanied without one of their Bonded or Parental Sundry for protection. The orders were forgotten in the back as he decided to observe her for a bit longer.

She was beautiful. Rich brown waves that reminded him of fresh-turned soil reached the middle of her back with dark lavender strands woven throughout. He wondered if they were natural or dyed. Long, dark horns reached up from the front of her head and extended back, covered with various chains of jewels and flowers. Everything about her was intriguing.

The woman must have sensed his gaze as she turned to look directly at him. Elias gave her a bit of a frown as her face lit up. It didn’t take long for him to reach the counter where she had stood, fingering the small vials filled with calming powders.

“What can I get you?” He groused. Expecting a frown or an offended look but received the same brilliant smile. A delicate hand reached out, decorated with jewelry chains and tattoos depicting swirls of flowers. A creamy white bracelet denouncing her status as Unbonded clinked against glass bracelets. Elias scowled but took her hand, raising it to place a kiss on the back. Her rich sepia skin tinted a light lavender blush. He raised an eyebrow at her, which only made it more prominent.

She stuttered momentarily, taking her hand back before giving him a shy smile. “Are you Elias Orym, the Obscure Potion Master?”

Elias gave her a blank stare before pointing to the sign in the window that read Obscure Brews. “I think that would indicate that I was.”

“Wonderful!” She smiled and slapped a hand down onto the counter. Elias scowled at the action. “I was looking for a luck potion and heard from a friend that you make some of the best potions.”

He leaned back with his arms crossed, “What exactly is this luck potion needed for?”

She blushed and bit her lip, drawing his gaze to her face. It was hard not to be attracted to the woman with such a bright disposition even if it did grind on his nerves a bit. She pulled at the collar of her shirt, clearing her throat. “You see…”

“Spit it out, woman.”

“Sullishu, but you can call me Sulli,” She corrected automatically.

Elias sighed, “Just get to the point. I don’t have all day and some orders must be filled.”

Sulli brushed her hair behind a pierced ear that was pointed but it was longer than an Elf or a Fae. Elias felt his curiosity piqued at the more information he was gathering about Sulli.

“I need to study to finish my Apprentice Exam before I get accepted into Journeyman classes.”

“You cannot use luck potions to pass exams. They test for them at that level. You should know this.” Elias gave her a deadpanned stare so she knew how unimpressed he was.

“No, no! I don’t plan to use it to pass the Exams exactly. I wanted to use the Luck Potion to help with studying. The ingredients in it act like a focus for me when I study. Better than any drinks that I could do.”

That was a first for Elias. In fact, thinking about the ingredients and the process for making it, the effect she experienced should not have been possible.

“Fine. I’ll make you the potion if you agree to my terms of use.” Elias stalked away before giving her a chance to answer. He pushed through the curtain of ivy that covered the door to the back room and made his way to his paperwork cabinet. After a few minutes of rustling, he finally found the exact contract needed for this situation. He’d have to tweak it a bit.

“Oh wow! It’s even better back here.” Sulli had stepped into the back room, completely bypassing the wards he had on the door. He turned around on his heel to glare at her.

“You’re not supposed to be back here.” He watched as she jumped away from one of his more dangerous plants. One that would snap at everyone that passed near. The whole reason he had relocated it to the backroom. Except that she had been petting and cooing at it like a small pet and the damned thing was purring under her touch. “Get out.”

“But—”

“Out. Now!” He snapped, scowl firmly in place and shadow over his features in annoyance. She skittered through the ivy wall into the front of the store, her hair beads and jewelry making light tinkling sounds as she moved. Elias pinched the bridge of his nose before pointing at the drooping plant. “And you! You’re not supposed to be a pet.”

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There was a low chirr in response before it dropped to the soil in its pot.

“Oh, don’t even start with me.”

It perked up a leaf before covering its bud with sharp thorns, acting like teeth within a blossom. Of course, he would be saddled with a dramatic plant. “Don’t mope all day. It’ll cause your leaves to wither.”

He followed Sulli to the counter, catching sight of her examining the plants that reached across the walls. It was amazing to watch as each plant shifted so they were leaning toward her, some even going as far as reaching out for attention. She was giggling and talking to them, making sure each plant got individual attention and compliments. Even the most gifted of Elves had never gotten a reaction of this magnitude. Who was this woman?

Elias took his time walking to the counter, where he set the contract up so she could easily sign it. He waited for her to finish cooing over the plants. A lavender flush crossed her cheeks as she saw him observing her. Sulli wandered over with her jewelry, making little noises as she walked. It wasn’t that unpleasant of a noise unlike some Anissives that deck themselves out, Elias thought grimly. Hers were gentle sounding and didn’t grate on his nerves.

“Sign here. And for Realms sake, read the print. I’d rather not have to deal with a brainless idiot that loses their magic because they can’t read a simple clause.”

Sulli snorted in amusement before eyeing the contract. He watched her scan over the document. It was a relatively simple but effective one for these types of potions. Do not use to cheat on the exams themselves. Do not give them to someone without their consent or give them to someone for that person to pass. Finally, there was a clause that they must return to Elias for testing to check for adverse reactions. Luck potions could be toxic; it’s part of what gave them their luck.

A few moments later, Sulli set down the pen and slid the contract back to him.

Sullishu Tarkäm

“Thank you, Miss Tarkäm. I will gather the ingredients together and begin working on your potion. It will take me approximately five cycles to gather and brew the ingredients for you.”

Elias watched her pull out her Personal Magical Assistant, a new technomagic device, and type on its screen. She hummed and held it out for him.

“May I have your PMA address for my contacts so I can contact you if there are issues or have questions?”

Elias grimaced, not expecting the question, “I do not own one of these devices. We have not had them arrive on Verdanthi.”

Sulli lowered hers down and her smile dimmed a bit. Elias wished that he hadn’t been the one to cause that. Her smile was breathtaking.

“Oh. Uh. How may I contact you then?”

Elias crossed his arms over his chest, “I’ve used messengers in the past.”

Sulli gave him a strange look, eyeing him a bit. She gave him a tentative smile, “Do you have a spare piece of parchment that I can use? I’ll give you my realm location to send messages to. May I use the Obscure Brews as a messenger point?”

“Of course.” He answered both questions at the same time. “Let me grab a profile card for you to fill out so I have your information on file. You can add in notes and imperative information for me.”

Thankfully, this was one form that he kept on hand at the front. He needed it enough times that it was just smart to do so. Sulli typed away on her PMA while he shuffled through the files. He heard her hum behind him, causing him to glance over his shoulder. He caught her staring at him and then blushing again as she was caught.

“It says here that the conversion of five cycles from Verdanthi to Llasish is approximately nine cycles for us. I’ll set a timer for the travel adjustment and the cycles so I’m not late picking it up. Would it be easier to come in the morning of the seventh day or the evening?”

Elias had set the profile paperwork in front of her and leaned forward, his long umber brown hair brushing her forearms as he peered.

“That can track the conversions of the temporal shifts between Realms?” He was stunned, looking at the complex little device that was foreign to him. Maybe he had been a recluse for too long as of late. This would have saved him time converting by hand and missing the shifting seasons in other Realms for harvesting.

He would need to look into these devices. And it was definitely not because the woman before him had asked.

She lit up and turned it around so he could see it more clearly. “Absolutely. There are so many features to it. You can send messages instantly, though sometimes the time differentials between the Realms can cause a slight delay. It’s also possible to make voice messages and talk to someone directly. They’ve fixed many initial interferences so there’s minimal delay, though it can randomly just freeze. There are many features that I could talk about for hours. It would be incredibly beneficial for your business to track the different harvesting seasons.”

“There are ways to track harvesting seasons?”

Sulli giggled and tapped on a small icon with a growing plant unfurling across the screen to reveal the interface. He listened intently when she rambled about the features and showed him all the bells and whistles of that particular tracker. He was definitely getting one now.

He could see his business growing with the efficiency and the ability to get the ingredients at their most potent. It even had a customizable input option for his personal growing and harvest season. Which could be adapted to different Realms and places that only he knew of regarding rare species.

A finger tapped him on the arm. He came back to a bright smile from Sulli, “Amazing, isn’t it? I was the same when the salesperson told me about these features.”

He could only nod.

“Let me fill this out for you and then I’ll return…. Oh. What time of day do I come back? We got sidetracked.”

He shook his head and tried to pull up his stoic mask. It didn’t work when he caught sight of her lips twitching. “Come back in the morning. I open with the sunrise, but you can visit between then and midday.”

“That sounds like a plan.” She said absently while writing out her information. “I’ll make sure to be here a little early so I can make the trip home before midday meal.”

Elias puttered around, even helping a few customers who had come in to pick up their orders. After some time, the grumpy mood had returned and he was ready to spend time away from people. There were incessant questions about quality and complaints about price when other places were cheaper. He had to explain that he went and harvested themselves rather than buy ingredients from other growers. Everything was fresh when they were brewed for people.

There was a cough and Elias jumped. He had forgotten that the woman was still there. Bright amusement shone in her eyes as she returned the profile packet. He flipped through it to scan for missing information before setting it aside.

“It seems that everything is in order. Thank you for filling it out. Your order should be complete in five cycles starting today. Arrive here in the morning of the sixth cycle for the most potent effect. It will preserve for an additional seven cycles once it is bottled, though it loses efficiency without a preservation spell. Would you like me to add in the preservation spell or not?”

Elias looked up to see that she was looking at him with that blasted smile again. He huffed at his own thoughts and noted down her opting in for the spell. He did the math on a scratchpad, “That will be 15 Versani. I can take credit, which will be converted over from one of the Vale’s bank or you can bring the exact change when you return.”

“I already suspected that you preferred more traditional payments.” She dug through her pockets and pulled out a slip. It was a verified credit slip that he could turn in to the main banking system in the Vale. He sighed, knowing that he’d have to make his way to the blasted Central Realm to do business but didn’t have to like it. “Thank you, Master Brewer.”

Sulli dipped her head and walked out of the shop without glancing back. Elias watched her disappear down the streets from the windows, before the door’s bell rang. Elias scowled. Another idiot. He couldn’t wait to get away to gather the ingredients for Sullishu.